The Irish police have launched a murder inquiry after a nun was found dead in the grounds of a convent in Ballybay, County Monaghan. Police reports say Sr Philomena Lyons, 68, left St Joseph's convent in Ballybay to catch a bus to Dublin. When she failed to arrive a search was carried out. Her body was found later on Saturday night. A post mortem examination revealed she died from strangulation and had been sexually assaulted. Garda Superintendent Tom Long said the community was shocked by the incident. He said: "This is a very quiet, law abiding town, there are very decent people in the town. "The people of Ballybay are extremely shocked, as one can appreciate, as indeed are the nuns in the convent and the people of Monaghan generally." Sister Philomena, originally from Mallow in County Cork, was a member of the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart order. She had been teaching in Ballybay since 1964. *Bishop Joseph Duffy issued the following statement today: I was deeply shocked to hear of the tragic death of Sr. Philomena Lyons in Ballybay, on Saturday last. I spent some hours with her community at the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Convent yesterday, and I share their profound sense of grief and loss at this difficult time. I offer my heartfelt sympathy to all who have been bereaved by Sr Philomena's death, and especially to her family, her Congregation and the people of Ballybay. +Joseph Duffy Bishop of Clogher